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Gadi Eisenkot at the Yashar party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Tuesday. Credit: Moti Milrod
Gadi Eisenkot at the Yashar party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Tuesday. Credit: Moti Milrod
Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of Israel’s Yashar party, on Saturday left open the possibility of forming a government with the backing of Arab parties, saying that any lawmaker who accepts four principles he has laid out for potential coalition partners could join efforts to establish a new government.
The four principles outlined by Eisenkot were: recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and equal state; committing to the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence; requiring all citizens to perform military, national or civilian service; and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization whose military and governing capabilities in Gaza must be destroyed.
Eisenkot, whose Yashar party won the largest number of seats in the opposition, said he plans to advance a series of legislative measures and fundamental decisions in the incoming Knesset, including establishing a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, introducing mandatory service for all citizens and increasing the number of people serving in the IDF, providing benefits to soldiers and repealing legislation passed as part of the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul.
“Don’t let anyone mislead you: In the State of Israel, it is the Knesset that gives its confidence to the government, not the other way around,” Eisenkot wrote.